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Tamil calendar
The Tamil Calendar is followed by the Tamil speaking state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala in India and by the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. There are several festivals in Tamil Nadu based on the Tamil Hindu Calendar. The Tamil calendar is based on the solar cycle. It has a sixty years cycle and each year has twelve months. The Tamil New Year follows the vernal equinox and generally falls on April 14 of the Gregorian year. The Tamil calendar is based on the Hindu solar calendar also used in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Nepal, Manipur, Orissa and the Punjab. It in turn influenced the calendars of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand where the traditional new year falls around April 14 as well. The Hindu lunar calendar is conversely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra where the traditional year begins on the new moon preceding April 14. The Seven Days of the Week The days of the Tamil Calendar relate to the celestial bodies in the solar system. Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, in that order. The week starts with Sunday The following list compiles the days of the week in Tamil Calendar: The Months of a Tamil Calendar The Tamil Hindu Calendar starts around April 14 of the Gregorian Calendar each year. It consists of twelve months. The number of days in a month can vary between 29 to 32. The following list compiles the months of the Tamil Calendar. The names of most Tamil months have Sanskrit antecedents. For example the name of the month 'Panguni' is derived from the Sanskrit 'Phalguna'. The month 'Chitterai' is derived from the Sanskrit 'Chaitra'. The name of the month 'Vaikaasi' is derived from the Sanskrit 'Vaishaaka'. The month 'Aadi' comes from 'Ashaadha'. The Sixty-Year Cycle of Tamil Calendar There 60 year cycle of Tamil Calendar was inserted into the Tamil Calendar system relatively late. Except few names in the 60 year cycle, the rest are 'Sanskrit' names. The yearly calendar follows a sixty year cycle. After the completion of sixty years, the calendar starts anew with the first year. This corresponds to the "Hindu century". The following list presents the current 60-year cycle of the Calendar: The Sixty-Year Cycle of Tamil Calendar The Tamil Yearly calendar follows a sixty year cycle. After the completion of sixty years, the calendar starts again with the first year. The following list presents the current 60-year cycle of the Calendar: Significance of Tamil Calendar The Hindus had developed a system of calendrics that encapsulates vast periods of time. For computing the age of the earth and various geological and other epochs, as well as the age of mankind, they still employ a Tamil calendar derived from ancient astronomical data, known as the "Tirukkanda Panchanga" (cf. The Secret Doctrine, 2:49-51). This calendar contains a calculation of something over three hundred millions of years for the age of the present earth since sedimentation occurred, and a period of somewhat more than eighteen million years since the first appearance of our mankind. The months of the Tamil Calendar gains more significance and are deeply rooted to the faith of the Tamil Hindus. Some months are considered very auspicious while a few are considered inauspicious as well. The 10th Tamil month called Thai, falls in the mid-January every year. It is celebrated with much enthusiasm among the Tamil Community all over the world. It is marked by gifting new dresses for the family members and giving prayers to God wishing for prosperity among the people for the coming year. The month of Thai and the fifth month of Aavani are considered very auspicious and most marriages usually happen during those months than the other months of the year. The fourth month of Aadi is considered inauspicious that usually weddings do not happen in the month. Aadi is also the month of preparation for next crop cycle by farmers. Hence, farming communities avoid major events like weddings in this month. On the contrary (or as advantage) the communities that don't actively contribute/participate in farming - take the advantage of having important functions like wedding in this month. For example, the business community prefers this month for wedding. It is usually the worst month for thriving businesses and recently this situation has changed a lot, as the businesses started providing discount shopping during that particular month. Each Tuesday of this month is set aside for prayer and worship. And another important point to note that for the newly married couple is also an inauspicious month to sleep together. The reason being if the girl who is conceived in this month will deliver the baby in the month of May, the hottest month in Tamil Nadu ('Agni natchathiram ' pinezu last 7 days of Chitharai and munezu first 7 days of Vaigasi ) and it will be tough period for baby delivery. The fifth month of Aavani is considered auspicious among the Tamil orthodox people, and the special occasion of Aavani Avittam marks the month. Each Sunday of this month is set aside for prayer. The sixth month of Purattaasi is auspicious to the effect that, most of the non-vegetarian Tamil people do not eat meat during the month. This faith can be considered much similar to the fasting by Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Each Saturday of this month is set apart to venerate the planet saturn. The full moon days and the new moon days have considerable importance among the Tamil people. One of the famous festivals, the Deepavali, is celebrated on the new moon day, in the seventh month of Aipassi. The month of Aipassi is usually characterised by the North-East Monsoon in Tamil Nadu, which has given birth to a phrase, Aipassi Adai Mazhai meaning the 'Non-stop Downpour'. The Festival of Thirukaarthigai is celebrated during the eighth month of Kaarthigai. Each Monday of this month is dedicated to the worship of Shiva. The ninth month of Maargazhi is characterised by the winter in Tamil Nadu, and considered auspicious for maiden women to find their groom. The Shaivite fast of Tiru-vembaavai and the Vaishnava fast of Tiru-paavai are observed in this month. The tenth month of Thai is the month of Harvest in Tamil Nadu. The festival of Pongal or Makara Sankranti is celebrated to mark the harvest in the first day of that month. The total number of days in a Tamil Calendar is an average 365 days and day's name are also similar to the western calendar. In temples and for day to day purpose 'Vakiya Panchangam' is used and for Astrological calculations 'Trikanitha Panchangam' is used. Festivals of Tamil Nadu The Tamil Calendar gains so much significance in the life of the Tamil-speaking people that most of the Festivals of Tamil Nadu are based on it. Some of Festivals include Tamil New Year, Thai Pongal, Deepavali, Panguni Uthiram, Thirukaarthigai, Aadiperukku, ARUNPRASATH V, PRASATH K, External Link *[http://www.chennaiiq.com/astrology/tamil_calendar.asp Dynamic Tamil Calendar] **[http://www.chennaiiq.com/astrology/english_date_to_tamil_date_conversion.asp English Date to Tamil Date Conversion] Category:Hindu calendar Category:Tamil calendar